


It's Our Mess

by LinRow12



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-18 11:23:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2346707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinRow12/pseuds/LinRow12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will and Sonny get into a big fight. Their kids decide to step in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Fight

**Author's Note:**

> Because I was having WilSon family feels, because I haven't written anything for so long, and because I really wanted to write a fic where Ari has brothers.

“I already know I’m screwed for the history test next week.” Seventeen-year-old Ari told her friend Elise over the phone, as she let herself into her house one afternoon.  “Hate history. Do you want to get together tonight and study?”

“Sorry, I can’t. I have work. Tomorrow night sound good?” Elise told her.

“Sure. But I’m going to start tonight anyway. Why does history have to be detailed?” Ari wailed.

“To torture high school students like us.” Elise cracked.

Ari laughed as she walked into her kitchen and opened the fridge. “Yeah, that must be it.”

“Hey, I gotta go, Ari. I’ll see you in school tomorrow.”

“Bye Elise.” Ari hung up and frowned at the fridge’s contents.

“Hey, ugly.” Fifteen-year-old Lucas ambled into the kitchen. “Surprised to see you home.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, dweeb.” Ari annoyingly answered her brother. “But soccer practice was cancelled.”

“So, you decided standing in front of the open fridge for an extended period of time was a more viable activity?” Lucas asked cockily.

“I can’t find the peach yogurt. I know there has to be at least one left.” Ari said, not looking up.

“Oh….”

"What, oh?”

“Nothing.”

Ari finally looked up and immediately saw what her brother was trying to hide.

“Are you eating my yogurt?” Ari shrieked.

“Hey, it’s not just your yogurt.” Lucas snapped back defensively. “We share food in this house.”

“But not the yogurt, dummy. You know Dad only gets the strawberry and peach flavors and since I’m allergic to strawberries, I get the peach!”

“Sucks to be you then.” Lucas pointedly took a big spoonful of yogurt and then left the kitchen.

“Ugh!” Ari grabbed a bowl of grapes, slammed the fridge door, and stormed into the living room, muttering angrily.

“First sign of insanity is talking to yourself.” A voice said from the couch.

Ari jumped in surprise. “Justin! God, you scared me.”

“Then you’re getting blind too. I was here the whole time.” Lucas’s twin replied.

“Oh, shut up. You two are so annoying.” Ari flopped onto the loveseat, picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

“Hey, keep that down. I’m doing homework here.” Justin said, gesturing to his laptop and papers spread across the coffee table.

“Why don’t you go to your room, if the TV bothers you so much?”

“’Cause Lucas is there, and he’s too loud.”

“Go work in the study then.”

“I was here first, Ari! Why don’t you go somewhere else?”

“Fine! Jerk.”

Ari ran upstairs and into her fathers’ room. She shut the door, jumped on the bed, and flipped on the TV.

Half a hour later, the door opened and Will came through, tugging his tie off.

“Hi, sweetheart. What are you doing here?” Will asked.

“Hi, Daddy. I’m here cause Justin wouldn’t let me watch TV in the living room and your room is the only other one with a TV in it; since you refused to get me one for my room.” Ari explained sweetly.

“And I still stand by that decision.” Will pulled off his tie and dropped it on the ground. He climbed on the bed and sat down next to Ari. “So, what are we watching?”

“Friends re-run. The One Hundredth.”

“Great episode. Has Joey had surgery yet?”

“Nope, it’s coming up.”

“Good.”

Ari rested her head on Will’s shoulder. “Daddy, Lucas ate my yogurt today.”

“I’ll give him a strict talking to about it later.” Will said as he reached for the grapes, his eyes not leaving the screen.

“Or you could do something else for me instead.” Ari said slyly.

“Oh, I know where this is going.” Will turned to Ari. “You want pizza for dinner, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Ari gave Will her biggest smile.

“Alright. Just wait until Papa comes home to order the pizzas.”

“Did I hear the word pizza? Awesome.” Sonny said brightly, walking through the door.

“Speak of the devil.” Will grinned.

“I like when people are talking about me.” Sonny smiled. He sat down next to Will and gave him a peck.

“I know you do. What a narcissist.” Will teased, giving him another kiss.

“Ugh, can you guys do your flirting when I’m not in the room?” Ari grumbled.

“What did she say?” Sonny asked, wrapping an arm around Will and reaching over for some grapes.

“She said we should kiss more.” Will replied seriously.

“That’s what I thought.” Sonny leaned down and kissed Will again.

Ari reached behind her head for a pillow and threw it at her dads.

“Hey!” Will protested.

“That’s what you get.” Ari giggled. She leaned back against the headboard and then paused when she heard something crinkle.

“Hey, what’s this?” Ari pulled a piece of paper from behind her.

“That’s mine, thank you. You don’t need to see that.” Will said hastily. He tried to grab the paper from her.

“Why, what is it?” Ari unfolded the paper and quickly scanned it. “You brought a bookshelf?” she asked confused.

“You did what?” Sonny sat up straight.

“It’s a receipt for a bookshelf brought at Alma’s Antique Shop.” Ari replied, handing the paper over to Sonny.

“I was waiting to tell you tonight.” Will sighed. “I found a really nice antique bookshelf that’ll look great in the study. It’s coming in on Saturday.” He poked at Ari. “Thanks for ruining the surprise, missy.”

“Will, this is a five hundred dollar bookshelf.” Sonny said faintly.

“Yeah, but we don’t have to pay it all at once. They took half at the time of purchase and then we pay the rest six months later.”

“Why-why didn’t you talk to me first?” Sonny demanded.

Ari stomach dropped hearing the increase of volume in Sonny’s voice. She quickly clicked off the T.V. and placed her empty bowl on the night table.

Will frowned, “Sonny, we’ve talking about getting a new bookshelf for months now. Why is this a surprise to you?”

“Because I thought we would choose a reasonably priced one from IKEA. Together.”

“Yeah but then I saw this store was having a clearance sale. Sonny, what is your problem?” Will asked, sitting up.

“My problem is that you didn’t talk to me first before buying an overpriced bookshelf!” Sonny shouted.

Ari sat up nervously. Sonny rarely shouted and she couldn’t think of the last time he yelled at Will. She rubbed her stomach, a habit she adapted for whenever she felt uneasy.

“Why did I need to talk to you first? It’s a bookshelf, not a car.” Will shot back.

Sonny swung his legs over the bed. “Will, you need to talk to me about—AH!” Sonny stood for a second before pitching forward.

Will and Ari quickly rushed over to Sonny and saw him sprawled on the ground, clutching his ankle.

“Are you ok, Papa?” Ari asked fearfully.

“What happened?” Will asked as he and Ari helped Sonny onto the bed again.

“I slipped on something.” Sonny groaned, rubbing his ankle. “Ow, I think I landed my ankle badly.”

“I think it was this.” Ari picked a tie off the ground.

“Oh, my bad. I’m sorry, Sonny.” Will said sheepishly, grabbing the tie from Ari.

Sonny glared at him. “Will, how many times have I told you not to leave your ties around? This is like my twentieth time slipping on one.”

“Don’t be so overdramatic. You’ve only slipped from a tie five, maybe six times in the whole time we’ve been together. You should look where you step next time.” Will snapped, throwing the tie on the dresser.

“I’m pretty sure it’s been more than that. And you shouldn’t leave them on the ground.” Sonny retorted.

 _‘Ok, seriously, I need to get out of here.’_ Ari thought. She started making her way to the door. But her father’s next words stopped her.

“Don’t be such a baby, I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that badly.” Will snipped.

“And how would you know? It’s not like you’re the one always falling over your own damn ties.” Sonny said as he gingerly rolled his ankle.

Will snorted.  “Whatever.”

“Excuse you, but I do not have the comfort of sitting in a chair all day. I’m actually moving around.”

“I thought the point of you hiring two extra bartenders was so you wouldn’t be out on the floor so much.” Will retorted.

“I had to let them go.” Sonny mumbled, stretching out his leg.

“The bartenders? What? Why?” Will demanded.

“I just had to.” Sonny sighed.

“Both of them?”

“Yes.”

“Why? I don’t understand. It’s been less than a year since you hired them.”

“Business is slow.”

“Ok, you’ve been saying that a lot lately. What exactly does that mean?”

“Will—“

“Wait, does the club have to do with why you freaked out over the bookshelf?”

“Yes.”

“Sonny, tell me.”

Sonny let out a breath. “The club…the club’s struggling. We’ve been losing business.”

Will and Ari stood in stunned silence as they processed the new information.

“What?” Will whispered. “How?”

“I’m taking care of it. Don’t worry about it.”

“Like hell I won’t.” Will stood in front of Sonny.  “What aren’t you telling me?”

Sonny sighed as he looked up at Will. Then his eyes flickered towards Ari who was still rooted in her spot by the door.

Ari glanced from Sonny on the bed to Will standing over him with his arms crossed. She rubbed her stomach again.

“Ari, would you please leave us? Your father and I need to talk alone.” Sonny said.

“Um, ok.” Ari placed her hand on the doorknob. Before opening it, she turned back, “Do you want me to bring you the ice pack, Papa?”

“I’m fine, thanks sweetpea.” Sonny said, not taking his eyes off Will.

“Ok.” Ari quickly left the room. She shut the door and turned around, only to run straight into Lucas and Justin.

“Ow! What are you guys doing?” Ari hissed.

“Trying to figure out why Dad and Papa are fighting, duh.” Lucas replied.

“Did you cause it, Ari?” Justin asked.

“No, I didn’t! They were arguing about money, then Daddy leaving his ties everywhere, and now Papa told Daddy that the club isn’t doing well.”

The boys exchanged looks before Lucas pushed past Ari and pressed his ear against the door. “They’re talking quietly now, I can’t pick up much.”

“Like angry quiet or calm quiet?” Justin asked.

“Really can’t tell. Damn, how thick are these doors?”

“Maybe you need hearing aids.” Justin stood beside him and pressed his ear against door.

“Well?” Ari asked nervously.

“Lucas is right, can’t hear a lot.” Justin whispered.

“Told ya.” Lucas snapped.

“Shut up.”

“Guys, focus.”

“Oh, I got it! My closet is right on the other side of their room. I can hear everything from there.” Justin said.

“Alright, let’s go!” Lucas and Justin rushed into their room with Ari following close behind.

The boys walked into Justin’s closet without hesitation, but Ari paused in the doorway.

“Well, aren’t you coming in?” Lucas asked.

Ari wrinkled her nose, “It smells like sweaty socks and we’re gonna be cramped.”

“Ari, do you want to find out why our parents are fighting or not?” Justin asked.

“Alright, fine.” Ari sighed. “I’ll just try to not breathe a lot.”

“Whatever you gotta do.” Justin shrugged.

Ari squeezed in besides her brothers. Although the closet was fairly spacey, it wasn’t meant for three people to be in it at the same time.  

“Ouch! You just elbowed me!” Lucas hissed at Ari.

“Well, you just stepped on my foot!” Ari hissed back.

“Lucas! Don’t push me!” Justin whispered.

“She’s pushing me!”

“I can’t help it! There’s a pile of dirty laundry right by my face! Can you guys move forward a little?”

The two guys begrudging moved an inch.

“Oh, thanks, that helps loads.” Ari whispered sarcastically. She turned her head, so she couldn’t have to breathe in the dirty clothes. “Why can’t we hear anything? I thought you said we would be able to hear everything.”

“We can. Just be patient.”

Lucas suddenly giggled.

“What could you possibly find so funny right now?” Ari demanded.

“Well, think about it. We’re the kids of two gay men, hiding in a closet, listening to them argue. You don’t see the irony in it?”

Justin chuckled but Ari shook her head, “You’re an idiot.”

“I’m a funny idiot.”

“No, you’re just an idiot.”

“Shhh!”

Sonny's voice came through the wall then, muffled, but clear. “I’ve told you this before, Will.”

“No, you haven’t. What you’ve said is you’ve been slow recently but you expected things to pick back up. You never told me how bad the situation was.”

“I didn’t want you and the kids to worry.”

“That’s not your decision to make! We’re a team; we need to talk about things like this.”

“Right, like you told me about this stupid bookshelf before buying it!”

“Well, if my husband had told me how bad the situation was, I wouldn’t have brought the stupid bookshelf!”

“Shit, I’ve never heard them yell at each other before.” Justin whispered to his siblings. Lucas and Ari agreed anxiously.

“How bad is it?” They heard Will ask.

“Bad. You know that new nightclub that opened up? It’s taking away most of our customers on Friday and Saturday nights. And that’s our best nights. Then the renovation we just did to the bar cost more than Chad and I anticipated. It’s not looking good.”

“Oh, damn.”

“So now you can see why I wasn’t thrilled with you buying this bookshelf.”

“Yeah, I get it now.”

“Ok, just go to the store tomorrow, tell them you don’t want it and to refund your money. That can be the end of that.”

“I, uh, can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

Silence.

“Will? Why can’t you return the bookshelf?”

“They won’t take it back. They have a no return policy on sales items.”

Inside the closet, the three kids simultaneously face-palmed.

“Are you kidding me?” Sonny voice got louder. “Why would you buy something you couldn’t return?”

“I didn’t think I would need to return it!”

“Great, this is just great.” There was a sound of a thump and then a hiss of pain.

“Oh, that’s brilliant. First injure your ankle and then your hand. Smart plan, genius.”

“This coming from the guy who thought it was a good idea to buy something for an inflated price that can’t be returned? Honestly, Will.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t belittle me.”

“I’m not—“

“Yes you are, you’re belittling me in the same way you did when you decided not to tell me about our money troubles.”

“I told you why.“

“That you didn’t want me to worry. Right, because why would I worry? We’ve only got three kids to care for, one who is going to a college next year, another who has to go to physical therapy, and we've got a mortgage to pay off. It’s not like money is an issue.” Will said angrily.

More silence.

“I’m trying to fix this, Will. It’s my mess.” Sonny finally said.

“For the last time, it’s not your mess. It’s ours.”

“What do you want from me?” Sonny asked, his voice sounding tired.

“Trust would be a nice start.” Will replied, his voice sounding defeated.

The next thing the kids heard was a door opening and then footsteps going down the hall, down the stairs, and then the sound of another door closing downstairs.

“He must have gone into the study.” Ari said softly.

“Question is: which one?” Lucas replied.

The three kids slowly walked out the closet. The twins sat on their respective beds while Ari took Justin’s desk chair. No one spoke for a while.

“Whoa.” Justin said finally.

“That pretty much sums it up for me too.” Lucas nodded.

Ari ran a hand through her hair. “I didn’t know it was that bad.”

“Maybe there’s some way we could help?” Justin suggested.

“How? It’s not like we can pay off the mortgage, or have Ari not go to college or you stop going to your physical therapy appointments. Your shoulder isn’t completely healed yet.” Lucas pointed out.

“Yeah, but you and I can get jobs to help out. It’s about time we did.” Justin said.

“I was hoping to put that off for a bit longer, but fine, you’re right.” Lucas nodded.

The boys then turned to look at Ari.

“What?” Ari asked defensively.

“What are you going to do to help out?” Lucas asked pointedly.

“I guess I could look for a job too. I just don’t know who would hire me, knowing that I’ll be leaving for school soon.”

“I feel like we should do something else too. Maybe help them reconcile?” Lucas commented.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. They wouldn’t want us interfering.” Justin replied.

Ari was about to agree when they heard Sonny’s voice calling.

“Justin? Lucas? Oh, Ari, what are you doing in here?” Sonny asked, standing in the doorway.

“I was-I was asking Justin for his computer charger. I can’t find mine.” Ari said, thinking quickly.

“Or were you really telling the guys about mine and Dad’s fight?” Sonny asked, knowingly.

“I, um, well.” Ari shrugged helplessly. “They heard you guys shouting.”

“How’s your ankle?” Justin asked.

“It’s better, thanks.” Sonny smiled.

“What happened, Papa?” Lucas innocently asked, as if he had not been crammed in a closet listening to their whole argument just a few minutes prior.

“Nothing for you kids to worry about. Just boring grown-up stuff.” Sonny tried to reassure.

The three kids looked back at him skeptically.

“I’m serious. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if there wasn’t anything to worry about.” Justin said wisely.

Ari and Lucas exchanged grins as Sonny looked at him in surprise.

“Well, my too-smart-for-his-own-good-son, I’m saying it how it is. Everything is fine. I have to go to the club now, but here,” Sonny took out his wallet and handed Ari his credit card, “order pizza for dinner.”

“No, Papa, it’s ok. I think we have leftovers.” Ari said, not taking the card.

“Ari. It’s fine. Go ahead.” Ari reluctantly took the card. “Save me a couple of slices. I’ll be working late tonight.”

“But you just got home.” Justin said.

“I have a few things I forgot that I need to do. I’ll see you guys later.” Sonny turned and left the room.

“If everything was fine, Papa wouldn’t be missing dinner.” Lucas muttered.

“True that.” Justin sighed. “Sounds like Papa reassuring himself more than us."

“Still, I agree with Justin. It’s not our business to interfere.” Ari stood up.

“You make it seem like it doesn't bother you at all.” Lucas said.

“Of course it does, but I have to believe they will work it out themselves. I’m sure it’ll blow over quickly.”

“Now who’s the one reassuring themselves?” Lucas muttered.

“My point is,” Ari said, annoyed, “it’s better if we stay out of it. If anything, we could make it worse.”

“I agree.” Justin said. Ari shot him a grateful smile; Justin was always the more levelheaded twin. That was probably why she got along better with him than with Lucas.

Outnumbered, Lucas flopped back on his bed. “Fine.” He grumbled, “But I still stand by what I said.”

“You do that. But who knows? By tomorrow, everything will be fine and dandy and we would have worried for nothing.” Ari said, trying to sound cheerful. She left her brothers’ room before they could reply, and headed for her own. Lying down on her bed, she clutched her stomach again.

“ _I hope_.” She thought.


	2. Let's Do It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ari gets reunited with a relative and makes her decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to start off by saying THANK YOU to everyone who read, gave kudos, commented, and also who liked and reblogged my tumblr post on the first chapter of this story. I was blown away by the response. Thanks for making my week guys, you're the best :)  
> Second, I'm trying to do a weekly update with this story but honestly, it's a bit difficult. So forgive me in advance if I update late at times. I'm working hard on not letting that happen but can't help real life, you know?  
> Third, fair warning: No WilSon interaction in this chapter. But before you exit of the chapter completely, just know, they will be back next chapter (yes) and there's plenty of WilSon coming up. (double yes)  
> Ok, I'm done babbling, enjoy! :)

Exactly a week after her dads’ fight, Arianna was walking through Horton Town Square after finishing up a study session. She was so busy trying to put her notes back into her bag, that she didn’t notice a girl walk in front of her until she ran straight into her, sending both her notes, and the papers in the other girl’s hands, flying.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Ari bent down and frantically picked up the papers. “I wasn’t looking where I was going! I’m sorry!”

“Ari, it’s all right.” The other girl replied with a laugh.

Ari looked up in surprise and then squealed when she recognized the person in front of her.

“Aunt Sydney! I didn’t know you were home!” The two girls stood up and Ari embraced her aunt tightly. 

“Yeah, it’s a glorious thing called fall break.” Sydney joked. “I’m home until Tuesday.”

With their matching dark brown hair and blue eyes, people would often mistake Sydney and Ari for sisters growing up. There was more than one instance when Ari wished it were true. She was closest to Sydney out of all her aunts and uncles and was always the one she would turn to for help and advice.

“Jerk! Why didn’t you tell me you were back? We could’ve met up for coffee or something!”

“Dude, Ari, I just got back a couple of hours ago. Calm yourself.” Sydney laughed again.

“Right, sorry. It’s not like I could have hung out anyway. I’ve been stressing out about this history test I have tomorrow. I can’t wait for high school to be over.”

“I bet. How has the college application process been going?”

“Good. I’m halfway through all of them and already submitted my Salem U application.”

“As a safety school? That’s smart, it’s always good to have something to fall back on.”

“Actually I’m considering going there.”

“Why? You’ve always talked about getting out of Salem for college.”

“Some things have happened.” Ari said vaguely, dropping her gaze.

“What happened?” When Ari didn’t answer, Sydney added, “You know you can tell me anything.”

“If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone? Especially Grandma.”

“Ari, of course. What is it?”

“I recently found out that Dad and Papa have been having money problems. Really serious ones. I’m starting to re-think the idea of moving away for school and just stay at home to ease the burden.”

“Whoa, back up. What?” Sydney grabbed Ari’s arm and sat them both down at a nearby table. “Seriously?”

Ari nodded miserably, “Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, Ari. That’s so rough. It’s stressful enough applying to colleges but it must be so much more so when your parents drop this bombshell on you.” Sydney said sympathetically.

“They didn’t tell me. I overheard them arguing about it.”

“So, they haven’t told you anything upfront?”

“No. I heard them say it was because they don’t want the boys and me to worry, but I get this feeling that it’s actually because they don’t want us to know how much worse it might get.”

Sydney whistled softly. “Damn.” She took Ari’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “But I still don’t think you should have to give up on going to the school you want. Have you looked up any scholarships? There’s a ton you can eligible for, even if you haven’t chosen a school yet. And get your financial aid paperwork done early next year. That way you can get more money.”

“Ok, I’ll do that. I was already planning on looking into scholarships this weekend.” Ari gave a small laugh. “I have to ask, how do you know about all this financial aid help? As a DiMera, I’m guessing you didn’t have to worry about affording college.”

“You’re right, I didn’t. But I still remember my friends going through all the financial stuff during my senior year and a few of them would ask me to proofread their scholarship essays. If you want, I can ask them what websites they used.”

“That would be incredibly helpful, thanks. I’ll probably also take you up on the essay proofreading too.” Ari sat back with a sigh.

“Sure, no problem.” Sydney paused then said slowly, “You know, if I just mentioned it to my parents, I know they’ll be more than happy to help out your dads.”

“No! Then my parents are going to find out I told you about it. There’s nothing they hate more than having everyone butt into their problems.”

“True, I know Mom has first hand experience with that.” Sydney said with a small laugh.

“Besides, you know how my Papa hates borrowing money from family members.”

“Yeah, I know…wait a minute,” Sydney sat up. “Is the club in financial trouble?”

Too late, Ari realized her mistake. Attempting to brush it off she said, “No. Of course not. The club’s fine.”

“You said your Papa would have a problem with it. Specifically him. Ari, is something wrong with the club?”

“I meant that—it’s not---“ Ari gave her aunt a desperate look. “Please don’t tell anyone!”

“I can’t believe it!” Sydney exclaimed. “I had no idea and I doubt my parents know either. Why would Chad hide it from us?”

“Syd, why do you think? Uncle Chad and Papa started the club on their own without any family help. They obviously don’t want to start depending on them now when they’re in trouble.”

“I suppose it makes sense. In a stupid alpha male sort of way.”

Ari giggled. “Exactly. I’m actually heading over the club now; do you want to come with me?

“Sorry, I can’t right now. I need to hang up more of these fliers.” Sydney gestured to the papers in front of her.

“What are they for?” Ari asked as she grabbed one.

“It’s a fundraising event for the father of one of my sorority sisters, Kelsey. He was in a bad car accident over the summer and had to get his leg amputated. The family is drowning in medical bills so they’re holding a fundraiser to help raise the money. The other girls and I took up a donation box and we’re spreading the word around.”

“Poor family. I hope they get through this.”

“Me too. I’ve met them and they’re good people. Which is why I’m asking my dad to give a big donation.”

Ari smiled. “You’re a good person, Syd.”

“I know.” Sydney tossed her hair back with a grin. “I’ll catch up with you later, ok? I’ll call Will and we can have a family dinner before I go back to school.”

“You better and that sounds great.” Ari hugged her aunt tightly. “Thanks for talking with me Syd. I feel much better now than I have all week.”

“Anytime, Ari. You know I’m here for you.” Sydney waved before walking off.  Ari smiled and watched her go before heading off to the club.

**************

“Well if it isn’t Miss Arianna Grace.” Chad DiMera grinned at her across the bar at Club TBD.

Ari smiled back. To others, Chad might be the powerful and business savvy DiMera, in line to inherit his family’s grand fortune, but to Ari he was Uncle Chad, who could always get her to laugh and also makes the best ice cream sundaes.

“Hi, Uncle Chad.” Ari sat on a barstool. “Could you make me a large mocha with a shot of espresso please?”

Chad raised his eyebrows, “What do you need so much caffeine for at nine-thirty at night?”

“History test tomorrow. I’m pulling an all-nighter.” Ari groaned.

“Oh, that’s rough. I’ll give you this on the house.” Chad said as he made her coffee.

“Ha-ha. You already give me free drinks, remember?”

“Shhh! Not so loud, I can’t have people thinking I’m going soft.”

“Oh, of course not, sorry.” Ari giggled.

Chad fit a lid over the coffee cup and handed it to Ari. “So, is it going to be a Horton-Kiriakis study party then?”

Ari furrowed her eyebrows. “Sorry?”

“Your brothers came in a hour ago with their homework too.” Chad gestured to the back.

Ari turned around to see Lucas and Justin seated in a corner booth, laptops and books in front of them. Ari’s stomach dropped. She had a pretty good idea on why the boys were at the club and not at home at this hour.

“Huh, I didn’t know they would be here. I’ll go say hi. See you later.” Ari hopped off her stool.

“Hold it, right there. You should know by now Ari, nothing is ever free with me.” Chad smirked.

Ari grinned and then leaned over the bar and kissed Chad on the cheek. “Thanks for the coffee, Uncle Chad.”

“You’re welcome, little lady.” Chad smiled at her before turning to help the next customer.

Ari walked up to her brothers. “What are you guys doing here? It’s a school night.”

“We could say the same thing about you.” Lucas shot back.

“I’m going home now, dork. I just came to pick up some coffee.”

“I wouldn’t go home right now if I were you.” Justin said quietly.

Ari sat down next to him. She bit her lip and asked, “Are they fighting again?”

“Yep.” Lucas and Justin said in unison.

Ari sighed, the knot in her stomach back. “I was afraid of that.”

“They’ve got some sort of weird schedule going on now. They alternate between giving each other the silent treatment one day and exchanging snarky comments the next.” Justin said.

“It’s been a week. I can’t remember the last time they fought this long.” Lucas commented.

“So, they don’t know you’re here?”

“We told Dad we were going to Danny’s house. But then we realized we didn’t want to go there.” Justin said.

“Why not?” Ari asked.

“Danny’s parents are going through a divorce. We don’t want to be in that kind of atmosphere right now.” Lucas said, unusually solemn.

“I get it.” Ari sighed. “But guys, come on, one fight does not mean divorce.”

“But that’s how it starts.” Lucas pointed out.

“How what starts?”  The three kids turned in surprise at the new voice. Sonny was standing there, looking at them expectantly.

“Papa! We weren’t expecting to see you here.” Ari said, attempting to be casual.

“Clearly.” Sonny said. “You guys were looking so serious when I came in. Wanna tell me what’s going on?”

“We were-we were just asking Ari to drive us to the movies on Saturday.” Justin quickly lied.

“Y-Yeah. And I was telling them I couldn’t do it because I had plans at seven on Saturday.” Ari put in.

“And then I said that was when the movie started so she could drop us off first and pick us up after.” Lucas finished.

“I see.” Sonny said, still not looking completely convinced.

“Yeah, well you know how we get when we coordinate plans. Have to make sure everything is set right to the last detail. Obviously we picked it up from you.” Ari babbled nervously. One glance at her brothers confirmed the last bit was overkill.

“Right. Well, I would interrogate you guys further but I’m meeting with someone soon so I don’t have the time.”

“You’re meeting with someone right now? Who?” Lucas asked.

“It’s the owner of the antique shop.  I convinced him to stop by here after the store closes to see if he’ll take the bookshelf your father bought back. They usually hold a no return policy, but I’m going to see if I can convince him otherwise.”

“Oh, is Dad meeting you here then?”

“No, he is not.” The three kids exchanged nervous glances at the cold tone in Sonny’s voice. “And you three need to leave soon, it’s getting late and you have school tomorrow.”

At the moment, a middle age man in a black suit walked up to Sonny.

“Mr. Kiriakis?” He asked Sonny.

“Yes, hello! You must be Mr. O’Connell.”

“Yes, I am.” The two men shook hands.

“Thank you for meeting me here. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem. It’s on my way home, Mr. Kiriakis.”

“Call me Sonny, please. Let’s go talk in my office; we’ll have more privacy there. Just give me one moment.” Sonny turned back to his kids, “There’s lasagna at home and don’t forget to put the leftovers away when you’re done.”

“Yes, Papa.” The kids replied.

“Good. I’ll be home late tonight. Bye kids.” Sonny lead Mr. Connell to his office in the back of the club.

“We’re gonna need a ride home, Ari.” Justin said as he packed his stuff.

“Alright. Come on.”

“I call shotgun!” Lucas exclaimed, grabbing his backpack and rushing off.

“No fair Lucas! It doesn’t count until you’ve seen the car!” Justin called after him. He chased him out of the club.

“Idiots.” Ari shook her head. Giving a final wave to Chad, she followed her brothers out.

Five minutes later, Ari and her brothers were on their way home. Lucas was sitting smugly in the passenger seat and had the window down, just to irritate Justin, who was huddled in the back.

“Lucas, roll up the damn window. It’s too cold.” Justin said for the fifth time.

“I like the cold.” Lucas said simply.

“Dammit, Lucas! Roll up your window!” Ari snapped.

Her brothers looked at her in surprise.

“Whoa, are you ok?” Justin asked.

“Fine. I just have a lot on my mind.” Ari mumbled.

“You’re thinking about Dad and Papa, aren’t you?”

“Yeah I am.” Ari sighed. “I hate that they’re having problems and that we can’t help them.”

“We could if you would agree to my original plan.” Lucas said, finally rolling the window up.

“What, help them reconcile? No, I still don’t think it’s a good idea to interfere.”

“Ari, think about how bad it’s getting to be.” Justin put in.

“It’s not like these are our friends who are having a fight over ridiculous rumors, it’s our parents fighting over money. We don’t have any business there.”

“Of course we do. It’s affecting all our lives.” Justin argued.

“It’s still not our place. Justin, I thought you agreed with me on this.”

Lucas turned in his seat to look back at his twin. “You should tell her.”

“There’s no point. She doesn’t want to get involved.”

“Tell me what?” Ari asked.

“You’re not going to like it.” Justin warned.

“Tell me.”

“I stayed up late last night cramming for an algebra test. When I went downstairs at around two a.m. for a snack, I found Papa on the couch sleeping.”

Ari looked at Justin through the rearview mirror. “Maybe he just fell asleep watching something.”

“You know that’s not what happened.”

Ari’s stomach twisted, “They’ve never been so angry that they didn’t sleep in the same bed.”

“Now you see why I also think we should step in. At the very least, we could try to talk to them and make them see reason or something.” Justin said.

“Come on, Ari. Please?” Lucas replied.

Ari sighed as she turned into their driveway. Her house was quiet. If things were normal in her family right now, they would have long finished dinner together. Ari would have loaded the dishwasher and gone to her room to “study” for the night (although on most nights, it really ended with talking to her friends on Facebook). Her brothers would have put the leftovers away, cleared the table, and be sitting in the living room watching TV loudly. Her dads would have finished up the cleaning and retired into their own room. It was a routine they long ago adapted to and one they were comfortable with.

But tonight, instead of the house blazing with light, she saw that all the lights were off except for the one in the window of the study. “ _One lone light for one lone man._ ” She thought. The idea depressed her. She didn’t want her fathers to continue being unhappy. She switched off her car and turned to her brothers, who were waiting expectantly for her answer.

“Alright.”

“Alright… meaning you’ll help us come up with a plan?” Lucas asked.

“Yes. Let’s do this.” Ari said determinedly.


	3. Who's Worrying Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sydney proves she's her mother's child and Will and Sonny try to reconnect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the love guys!  
> Also I edited this in a hurry so I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes.  
> Hugs to the WilSon fandom

_*Meanwhile, back at Club TBD*_

Sydney pushed open the door of the club and glanced around happily at bustle of the place. A trip home was never complete until she came by her uncle’s club. Speaking of said uncle, Sydney spotted him immediately, wiping glasses at the back of the bar. She quietly took the stool right in front of him and let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Honestly, what does someone have to do to get a drink in this place?” She exclaimed loudly.

His back still turned, Chad grinned to himself. He’d recognized that voice anywhere.

“Sorry, how can I—“ Chad spun around and stopped short. “Oh man, a DiMera? And I was having such a good day.”

“Excuse you? I think you mean, this just turned into the best day ever.”

Chad tried to keep an annoyed expression but it didn’t work.

“Syd! You’re back!” Chad said happily as he came around the bar.

Laughing, Sydney flung her arms around Chad’s neck and hugged him tight. Chad wrapped his arms around her and gave her a little twirl before setting her down again.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” Chad said letting her go.

“It’s only been two months, Uncle Chad.” Sydney grinned.

“Well, two months feels like forever when I haven’t seen my favorite niece. So how’s school?”

“Good, classes are going well. How’s the club?”

“Yeah, it’s good.” Chad said nonchalantly, going behind the bar again. But Sydney noticed he didn’t quite look her in the eye when he said that.

“So, um, you just miss Ari and the boys. They left ten minutes before you got here.” Chad said, changing the subject.

“It’s ok, I actually ran into Ari earlier. Got to catch up with her a bit.”

“That’s nice. I haven’t had the chance to really catch up with any of those kids. Club’s been keeping Sonny and me pretty busy lately.”

“Really.” Sydney said, studying him carefully.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing, I just noticed you’re looking a bit tired.”

“You sure know how to compliment a guy.” Chad said, wiping down the bar.

“You know what I mean. “

“Ok yeah, I’ve been tired a lot these days. I’ve been working long hours.”

“Why?”

Chad gave a half smile, “What’s with the questions?”

“I’m just curious.” Sydney shrugged, trying to sound casual.

“Right. Well, it’s nothing that will interest you. Boring business stuff. I’d rather hear all your crazy college stories.”

“I actually do have one about one guy getting totally wasted at the last football game and ending the night at the back of the police car wearing a cheerleader’s uniform.”

“Awesome, let’s hear it!” Chad leaned forward eagerly, but at that moment, his phone started ringing.

“Oh damn, I need to take this, Syd.” Chad said apologetically.

“It’s fine, go ahead. Actually I wanted to hang up a flyer, if that’s ok? It’s for a fundraiser.” Sydney asked.

“Sure, there should be space on the bulletin board in the back. If not, you can take down an old flyer or two.”

“Great, thanks. Also, do you have a stapler I can borrow?”

“Yeah, it’s in the office. Make sure you knock first, Sonny’s having some sort of meeting in there.” Chad said, putting the phone by his ear.

“Ok, I will.”

Sydney headed to the back office. She noticed the door was slightly ajar and raised her fist to knock when she heard Sonny speak, causing her to pause,

“……you would be helping me out a tremendous amount, Wyatt.”

“I’m sorry, Sonny. But I cannot take back the bookshelf. We have a very strict no returns policy and your husband knew that.” Another man’s voice said.

“I heard. But is there any way you could make an exemption just this once? My husband wasn’t aware of it at that time, but we cannot afford the bookshelf.”

_‘Why does Sonny need a private meeting about returning a bookshelf?’”_ Sydney thought, confused. She kept out of view as she continued to listen in.

“Pardon me for saying this, but isn’t that something you two should have talked about before he brought it?”

“It should have been, yes. We had a….miscommunication.”

Sydney knew she should leave. It was a private conversation and she had no right to eavesdrop. But something, (let’s be real, it was probably her Sami Brady genes), kept her rooted in her spot.

“Look, even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to. Our store is closing down and I need to get rid of everything one way or another.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. We haven’t officially announced it yet. Still waiting on some papers to go through.”

“Can I ask why you’re closing? My great uncle told me your store has been based in Salem for as long as he can remember.”

“Yes, it’s been in my family for years, passed down each generation. I was hoping my son would take it over after me, but that is not going to happen anymore.”

“What happened?” Sonny asked gently.

“What can you say about kids these days? They want to stand on their own two feet. My son’s not interested in running an antique store; he works as a stockbroker in Chicago and eventually wants to work on Wall Street. I’m not upset about it though, I admire his determination.”

“You’re a good father.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. But the truth is, I can’t run the store anymore on my own. Especially with my wife’s condition.”

“What’s wrong?” Sonny asked before he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I’m being intrusive. Forget I asked.”

“It’s alright. In a weird way, it helps to talk about it with someone else. Even if it is a complete stranger.” The man—what had Sonny said his name was? Wyatt?—heaved a sigh. “She has Parkinson Disease.”

Sydney’s heart dropped. She didn’t know this man (hell, she didn’t even know what he looked like), but she felt a rush of sympathy towards him.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry.” Sonny said sincerely.

“Thankfully it’s an early diagnosis so there are surgeries and medicines we can…try.” The man cleared his throat. “Excuse me.”

“Would you like a tissue?”

“I’m fine, thank you. Anyway, after months of consulting doctors, we found a treatment program for her in Florida. They offer medication and monthly tests and when she…when she get worse, they will provide her with an around the clock nurse.”

“Sounds like a really great program.”

“It is. The problem is it’s really expensive and participants need to live close to the treatment center. We’ve sold most of our stuff and we’re selling the store to try to cover the cost, but we’re still short on the money. Our son is offering to help us but we don’t want to burden him. He has a family of his own to worry about.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that. Life really knows how to throw the curveballs, huh?”

“Yes it does.” The man gave a humorless laugh. “Again, sorry about the bookshelf.”

“Oh, no need to apologize. My husband and I will work something out.”

“I sincerely hope you do. Well, I’ve enjoyed your company, Sonny, but I need to go home to my wife now.” There was a sound of a chair scraping back.

“Of course, Wyatt. It was good meeting you. I’ll walk you out.” There was another sound of a chair scraping.

Sydney hurriedly looked around as a way to escape so she wouldn’t be caught eavesdropping. Spying the girls bathroom, she quickly dove in before she was spotted. Standing just on the other side of the door, she could hear the office door creak open and two sets of footsteps walking away. Only when she was sure she couldn’t hear them anymore, did she come back out.

Sydney walked back to the empty office. She went over to Chad’s desk and picked up the stapler she needed. She was about to leave when she spotted a single piece of paper on Sonny’s desk. Curiosity got the better of her and she quickly walked over to see what it was about.

_‘It’s a receipt for a bookshelf. Must be the one they were talking about_.’ Sydney thought. ‘ _Yikes, five hundred dollars is pretty steep.’_

Then something clicked in Sydney’s brain.

_‘Oh shit, this must be part of the money problems Ari was saying Will and Sonny were having. No wonder Sonny wanted to get rid of the bookshelf so badly.’_

Sydney was still reading the receipt when she heard footsteps approaching.

_‘Shit!’_

Sydney tossed the paper back on the desk, rushed over to Chad’s desk, sat down in the chair, opened a drawer, and threw the stapler in.

Sonny came in and took a double take when he saw her.

“Sydney? Hey! I didn’t know you were back!” Sonny said cheerfully.

“Hey Sonny!” Sydney got up to give her brother-in-law a hug. “I just got back today.”

“How’ve you been? How’s school?”

“I’m good and school is hard, but nothing I can do about it.”

“I don’t believe that. I bet you’re acing all your classes.” Sonny smiled.

“I wish.” Sydney chuckled. “How are you doing? How’s Will?”

“Yeah, I’m doing well. Will’s fine. He’s going to be so happy to hear you’re home.”

“Yeah, I was planning on calling him tomorrow. I was thinking we could all do a dinner together?”

“That sounds like a great idea. We’ll definitely make that happen.”

“Awesome, thanks.”

“So, what are you doing in the office?” Sonny asked curiously.

“I was looking for a stapler. I wanted to hang up a flyer.” Sydney turned back to the desk and pretended to search through it. “Chad said it was on his desk, but I don’t see it.”

“You can borrow mine, if you’d like.” Sonny offered

“I’m sure it’s around---here! Found it!” Sydney pulled out the stapler.

“Crisis averted.” Sonny joked.

“Ha, right, exactly.” Sydney laughed nervously. “Ok, well I’m going to hang these up and then go home. I’m a bit tired.”

“Ok, Syd. It was good seeing you.” Sonny opened his arms again.

“Good seeing you too, Sonny.” Sydney hugged him tightly. She gave him a quick smile before leaving the room.

After making sure the flyer was hung up straight for the fifth time, Sydney stood back and stared at it, lost in thought.

_‘So, Will’s family is having money problems and it’s affecting Ari’s chances of going to a good school. Sonny has a late night meeting with a storeowner to return an expensive bookshelf. The storeowner can’t take it back because he’s selling his store to pay for treatment for his wife who has Parkinson’s. On top of all that, the club has its own financial troubles but Chad won’t talk about it. Shit, and I thought my world was ending with the ten-page philosophy paper I have due next week.’_

“Syd? You ok?”

Sydney jumped and spun around to find Chad standing beside her. “Huh? What?”

“You look like you’re a hundred miles away. What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing. Just thinking of things I have to do tonight.” Sydney lied quickly. “I gotta go. I’ll see you at home.”

“Ok.” Chad said, confused.

“Uh, here’s your stapler back. Thanks.” Sydney said quickly. She shoved the stapler in Chad's hand and hurriedly walked away.

“Syd.” Chad called behind her.

“Yeah?” Sydney turned back halfway.

“Are you sure you’re ok? You seem rattled.”

“I’m fine, Uncle Chad.” Sydney half smiled. “I'll see you later.”

“Sure, later.” Chad watched his niece leave his club with a bewildered expression on his face.

Sydney took a deep breath of the cool night air once she got outside. ‘ _I’m ok, it’s the people I care about that aren’t.’_ She thought sadly.

 

Sonny returned home a little after midnight, his brain still buzzing from his conversation with Wyatt O’Connell. It was sad to think about how hard other people had it. It just proved how grateful he needed to be for everything in his life. Sure, he might be suffering through hardships right now but things could be worse. At least he had his family. His (thankfully) healthy, loving, completely crazy family. Complete with his completely crazy kids that he really needed to see right now. Even if it would just be watching them sleep from the doorway. He was about to start upstairs when he finally noticed the light in the study was on. Debating with himself for a few minutes, he ultimately walked towards the study and quietly opened the door.

Will was typing on his laptop at his desk, but he looked up when he heard the door open and Sonny come into view.

“Hi.” Sonny said softly.

“I didn’t hear you come home.” Will replied curtly. He removed his glasses and placed them on his head. He cleared his throat, “Do I want to ask how the meeting with the store owner went?”

“His name’s Wyatt O’Connell. And no, you don’t want to know.” Sonny said, coming into the room.

Will sighed. “So, did you come in here to yell at me again for making a stupid purchase?”

“No, I—“

“Cause I really can’t go another round with you right now, Sonny.”

“I know—“

“I have a deadline to meet and my editor’s already yelling at me cause that’s something she likes to do and I really can’t take more stress—“

“Will!” Sonny walked over and took Will’s face into his hands. “Will you please shut up and listen to me for once?”

“I always listen to you.” Will mumbled.

“I said shut up.” Sonny said softly. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his husband’s lips. He kissed him again, slowly and sweetly. When he pulled away, he wrapped his arms around Will and buried his face in Will's shoulder, breathing his scent in.

“I should shut up more often.” Will said, content and surprise mixed in his voice.

“Mhhmm.” Sonny replied, not moving from his spot.

Will was curious about the sudden change in his husband’s behavior, but he preferred it over the shouting and cold shoulders he had gotten over the past week, so he decided not to say anything. Until he heard sniffling and realized Sonny was shaking.

“Sonny? Are you ok?”

“Hhmm.” Was all that Sonny mumbled.

“I don’t know what that means.” Will finally pulled Sonny off to look at him properly. He was stunned to see Sonny’s eyes were filled with tears.

“Baby, what’s wrong? Did something happen? Is the club ok?” Will asked worriedly.

“Nothing’s wrong, nothing happened. Club’s fine.” Sonny hastily wiped his eyes.

“So what’s with the tears?”

“It’s nothing, I just—I don’t know what came over me.” Sonny stood up and went to sit at his own desk. “It’s nothing, sorry if I worried you.”

“No, don’t do that.” Will got up and walked over to Sonny. He stood between him and the desk. He took Sonny’s hands in his. “Tell me what’s wrong, please.”

Sonny sighed and stared at their joined hands, “The owner of the antique store, Wyatt? He’s selling his store so he can pay for a treatment plan for his wife who has Parkinson’s.”

“Oh God, that’s such an awful situation.”

“It just made me realize how good I have it and how stupid it was of me to fight with you about an insignificant thing.”

“To be fair, I was doing my own share of the fighting.”

“Then all these thoughts came into my head, about you, about the kids. If something were to happen…”

“Hey, hey. Don’t do that.” Now it was Will’s turn to hold Sonny’s face. “We’re fine. The kids and I are fine. No sense worrying about things that don’t exist.”

“I know I’m being stupid.”

“You’re not, baby. It just sounds like you got a big hit of reality today and are still reeling from it.”

Sonny gave a half smile, “How do you do that? How do you describe my moods better than I do?”

“Hello. Writer.” Will gave a small laugh. “Or it might be the fact that I know you better than you know yourself.”

“I think it might be a mix of both.” Sonny turned his head to kiss the Will’s palm. “I’m sorry about flipping out about the bookshelf. I’ll admit, when it came in last Saturday, it did look really nice. Maybe this weekend we can take it out of the garage and set it up. Together.”

“That sounds good to me.” Will smiled. He leaned forward and kissed Sonny. “I’m sorry for buying it without talking to you first. It was a stupid decision on my part.”

“It’s over, let’s forget about it.” Sonny kissed him again.

“Ok.” Will smiled into the kiss. Sonny removed his glasses from Will's head and placed them carefully to the side.

It wasn’t long before their sweet kisses became more heated. Sonny stood up and pushed Will closer to the desk. His hands went underneath Will’s shirt to trace the smooth skin underneath.

It had been a week since they had any sort of intimacy with each other and they both have missed each other terribly. Sure, they have been apart longer than that throughout the years, but not like this. It was more than a physical distance, it was an emotional one, and Will and Sonny wanted to make up for lost time.

Will wrapped his arms around Sonny’s neck and kissed him deeper, pushing his tongue into his husband’s mouth. Sonny moaned and then quickly lifted Will onto the desk, never breaking contact.

Sonny laid Will down on the desk, moving his mouth to focus on Will’s neck. Will went for Sonny’s shirt, quickly unbuttoning it. He kissed any stretch of skin he could reach and was about to pull it the shirt off when he spotted something in the corner of his eye.

A folder. Neatly titled: CLUB TBD—FINANCES

Now it was Will’s turn to be hit by reality.

Will tore his lips away, “No. I can’t. I can’t.” He gasped. He pushed out of Sonny’s arms and walked to the other side of the room.

Sonny was breathing heavily, surprise written on his face. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this. All this, right now.” Will said, taking a deep breath.

“Do you mean us? Why not?” Sonny asked, confused

“Because-because you still don’t trust me!” Will exclaimed, turning to face Sonny. “This fight was more than buying a stupid bookshelf, it was about how you didn’t trust me with your financial problems. Something that we should handle together, and you were keeping me in the dark. I can’t just kiss and make-up and forget about that.”

“I’m not asking you to do that.”

“I know. But I’m worried I will. That I’ll just let it go so that we can move on and be together again. But then I’ll keep worrying. I’ll keep worrying about other things you might be keeping from me and it’ll drive me crazy and I know eventually I’ll lash out and I might lash out at you. And I don’t want to do that.”

“Will, I’m not keeping anything else from you.”

“Maybe not right now, but what about in the future? Are you going to hide Ari’s college tuition fees from me?”

“Now who’s worrying about things that don’t exist?”

Will took a deep breath, “What’s in that folder? Can you tell me?”

Sonny looked down at the Club TBD folder, “It’s just bank statements, honey.”

“Can I see them?”

“The thing is, I haven’t looked through them myself yet—“

“Look! You’re doing it again!”

“Will.” Sonny rubbed his forehead, “Please calm down.”

“Sonny, why are you keeping this from me?” When Sonny didn't answer, Will asked again, louder, "Why?"

“Because I don’t want you looking at me differently.” Sonny said finally.

“What?” That was not what Will was expecting to hear.

“Every since we’ve been together, I’ve provided for you. I’ve provided for our family. When it was us, with Gabi and Ari, then when it was us with Ari, and now when it is us with all the kids. I’ve taken care of this family and I loved doing it. I could see how proud you were of me and, selfishly, I liked it. But now I’m struggling. For the first time, I’m struggling in my work and I don’t want you to stop looking at me like you’ve always have been. With that prideful look.”

Will stared at Sonny, at a loss of words. He had never seen his strong husband break down like this. No tears but every word he let out seemed to wear him down internally.

“Sonny. I’m sorry.” Will said, stepping forward.

“See? You’re pitying me already. I know it sounds egotistical, but I can’t deal with that. I can't!” Sonny quickly buttoned his shirt and headed out of the room.

“No, wait. Sonny!” Will tried to call out but Sonny had already left.

Will sank into a chair and rubbed a hand across his face.

_‘Where do we go from here?’_

 


	4. The Plan is Foiled--Or is it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ari and the boys are trying to come up with a plan. But there are circumstances working against them. Little do they know, Will and Sony are working towards a reconciliation themselves.  
> ....Ok, really, there's just a whole lot of talking in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, finally, FINALLY got this chapter cranked out. Every time it looked like I was done, I thought of something else that needed to be added. Which explains the very high word count in this chapter.  
> I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to upload. Thanks for everyone's patience. Special thanks to Wendy MSC for her sweet message. I'm doing a lot better now and my hand is completely healed. Yay for all around good news!  
> Last note: Just a heads-up, there is some offensive language in this chapter.

The next morning, Will was supposedly tying his tie in front of the mirror but in actuality was subtly watching Sonny through the mirror, digging through a drawer looking for matching socks.

When Sonny rushed out of the study the night before, Will didn’t run after him. He didn’t stop him in the middle of the hallway, didn’t try to tell him everything would be all right, and then give him a hug. Instead, he went back to writing his article and didn’t come up to bed until a quarter before one. He was relieved to find Sonny sleeping in their bed even if he was lying at the very end of his side. It was better than the couch downstairs. Will had leaned down and kissed him on the forehead before getting ready for bed himself. Once he got underneath the blankets, he didn’t try to reach for Sonny. He just went straight to sleep.

It might seem cold but as someone who has dealt with insecurities, Will knew when to push and when to back off. Sonny’s confession was a big moment for him and Will knew he would talk when he was ready. If he felt pressured into opening up, it would only cause Sonny to withdraw further into himself. Of course Will didn’t want that, so he was going to back off until Sonny approached him. He was going to be the patient one for once. At least, that’s what he told himself.

“Stop it.” Sonny’s voice pulled Will out from his thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“Stop staring at me.” Sonny said, not looking up as he pulled on his socks.

“I’m not.” Will lied quickly. So much for being subtle. 

Sonny looked over in amusement, “Then I suppose you double knotted your tie on purpose, huh?”

“What?” Will looked down and realized it was true. “Dammit.”

Sonny chuckled. “That’s what you get.”

He walked over as Will fruitlessly tried to untangle the mess he made.

“Here.” Sonny’s hands replaced Will’s as he went to work on the knot.

“Thanks.”

“You’re doing it again.” Sonny said as he focused on his task.

“Doing what?”

“Staring at me.”

“Well, you’re pretty to look at. I like looking at you.” Will said lightly.

Sonny gave a half smile, “Flirt.”

“Husband.” Will quipped.

Sonny just shook his head as he pulled the knot loose and freed the tie.

“Thanks.” Will reached up to make his tie again.

“I got it.” Sonny said softly.

Will let his hands fall as Sonny fixed his tie for him.

“There.” Sonny said a few moments later when he was done.

“Thanks.” Will replied as he checked himself in the mirror.

“That tie looks good on you.” Sonny said, softly.

“Yeah, I have to say, the person who gave it to me has good taste.” Will said, slyly.

Sonny snorted, “Smooth.”

“I thought so.” Will grinned.

“I know I have good taste.” Sonny said. But he wasn’t looking at the tie; he was looking at Will.

Will thought Sonny would say more but instead he cleared his throat nervously and made to move away. Will grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“Wait a minute. I want to talk to you.”

“Will. I don’t want to talk about last night.” Sonny said, looking away.

“Sonny.” Will took Sonny’s hands. “We need to. I need to understand where you’re coming from. Help me understand.”

“I told you last night.”

“But not the whole story. There’s more, I know it.”

Sonny continued to look at the floor.

“Talk to me, please. Let me be there for you like you have for me during all my rough times.” Will pleaded.

Sonny raised his eyes to Will. Saw the earnest look in the blue orbs. Paused. Opened his mouth to speak and…

“Dad, can you—oh, sorry, am I interrupting?” Justin burst into the room, only to stop short when he saw the scene in front of him.

“No you weren’t.” Sonny said, slipping his hands from Will’s.

“I can come back if I am. It’s not that important.” Justin said, quickly.

“What do you need, Just?” Will asked pointedly, turning away from Sonny who almost looked relieved at the interruption.

“Um, a ride to school. I need to leave early today so I was hoping you could drop me off on your way to work?”

“Yeah, of course I can. But we need to leave the house in ten minutes.”

“Ok, got it. Thanks! Uh, sorry again!” Justin ran back out of the room.

“You better get ready.” Sonny mumbled. He walked to the dresser and picked up his watch.

“Sonny. I’m not letting this go.” Will said as he followed him.

“What if I asked you to? Just this once, please let it go. Forget I said anything. Can you do that for me?” Sonny said, as he slipped his watch on his wrist.

“No.” Will said, simply.

“Of course not.” Sonny fiddled with the watchstrap.

“I can’t let it go because I care about you too much. Something’s bothering you and I want to help you. Isn’t that what you always say to me when I have a problem?”

“You know, hearing my words spoken back to me makes me realize how annoying I can be.” Sonny said, shaking his head.

“I’m glad you finally realized it.” Will joked.

Sonny shoved Will lightly, “You weren’t suppose to agree with that.”

“Husband privileges.” Will smirked. But then he got serious again, “How about we just take a night to ourselves tonight? We haven’t done that in a long time. The kids will be fine on their own. Let’s have dinner and talk. But, I promise not to push you, you talk when you’re ready.”

Sonny saw the earnest look on Will’s face and relented.

“Well, how can I say no to a face like that?” Sonny quipped.

“You can’t.”  Will grinned. He kissed Sonny’s cheek and hugged him, “And that’s how it should be.”

“Uh huh.”

***

As soon as Justin left his dads’ room, he made a beeline for Ari’s room, where his sister and brother were waiting for him.

“Well?” Ari asked, turning towards him.

“Done. Dad’s dropping me off to school.” Justin said triumphantly.

“Excellent.” Ari grinned, turning back to the mirror to apply her mascara.

“When is EJ going to call you?” Justin asked as he went to sit next to Lucas on the bed.

“He should be calling me soon.” Ari replied, focusing on her lashes.

“Are you sure he can get you tickets for the play?”

“He promised last night on the phone that he could get them. You heard him say that. Are you really going to doubt his word?”

“Hell no. I don’t have a death wish.”

“Then stop worrying!”

“Sorry! I just want it all to work out.” Justin said, wringing his hands.

“It will. Quit freaking out.” Lucas said as he bumped shoulders with Justin.

“Let’s just go over the plan one more time.” Justin insisted.

Ari and Lucas simultaneously groaned.  

“We’ve been through it twice already!” Lucas complained.

“Just humor me.” Justin snapped.

“Alright.” Ari butted in before her brothers started arguing. She capped her mascara and explained, “The plan consists of Daddy and Papa getting a surprise trip to Chicago to see a play at the Chicago Theater and then dinner at the Signature Room in the John Hancock building.”

“It also involves each parent getting picked up at their workplace by the DiMera limo. Courtesy of Grandma Sami.” Lucas added.

“Once we get the go ahead from EJ that everything is set for tonight, that’s when we do our part, right?” Justin asked.

“Right. While Dad is dropping you off at school, Lucas and I will grab his best suit and drop it off at the office with a note telling him to be ready for a ‘memorable night’. And then you, Justin, will take Papa’s suit that you pulled out of his closet last night out of my car during your free period and drop it off at the club with a similar message.” Ari replied.

“Just try not to let anyone see you.” Lucas said.

“No shit, dude. I’ve got this.” Justin stated.

“Alright.” Lucas said with skepticism. “If everything goes well, tonight Dad and Papa will be toasting to the second magnificent night of their life.”

“Second best?” Ari asked, confused.

“After the night I was born, duh.” Lucas said smugly.

“Ok, one, smartass, you were born six minutes after me. Don’t forget that. And two, we were born at seven in the morning.” Justin retorted as Ari giggled at her reflection.

“Whatever. Perfection knows no time constraints.” Lucas said, carelessly.

“That is definitely not the saying.” Justin grunted.

Lucas chose to ignore him and turned towards Ari who was touching up her make-up.

“You can cake on as much make-up as you want, your dark circles are still visible.” Lucas told Ari.

“Lucas, have you ever heard of tact?”  Ari asked, sarcastically.

“I’m your brother, I have no concept of tact.” Lucas said, matter-of-factly. “Trust me, you’ll appreciate it one day.”

“But today is not that day.” Ari replied, rubbing more concealer under her eyes. “Well, I was up until four thirty studying, so excuse me if I don’t look supermodel ready.”

“You never look supermodel ready.” Lucas commented then quickly ducked when Ari lobbed a lip gloss at him.

“I thought girls appreciated honesty!” Lucas turned to Justin, “Don’t they?”

“You gotta know when to be honest and when to keep quiet, bro. If you keep up this attitude, Madi is never going to go out with you.” Justin smirked.

“Shut up!” Lucas hissed, glaring at his twin.

Ari turned around in interest, “Wait, Madi who?”

“Nobody!” Lucas jumped up and rushed out of the room. But not before elbowing Justin on his way out.

Justin just laughed, “You’re totally blushing, man!”

“Am not!” Lucas called back as he ran down the stairs.

“Madi who?” Ari asked again.

“You know her, it’s Madison Carver.” Justin snickered as he went to follow Lucas.

“Madison C-Carver?! You mean Theo’s sister?” Ari ran downstairs and into the kitchen where Lucas was making a bowl of cereal.

“You have a crush on Madison Carver?” Ari exclaimed, happily. She hugged Lucas from behind, “This is so awesome! Your first high school crush, I’m so proud!”

“Gross! Ari, get off!” Lucas tried to wiggle free but Ari wouldn’t let go.

“Oh, it’s definitely not his first, but it does seem like his most serious one.” Justin interjected, grabbing the orange juice from the fridge.

“Justin, if you don’t shut up your mouth, I will shut it for you.” Lucas threatened.

“I’d like to see you try, little bro.” Justin smirked.

“You little—“ Lucas lunged at his brother but with Ari still clinging to his back, he missed as Justin easily sideswiped him.

“That the best you got?” Justin set the carton on the island with a grin.

“Get off, Ari!”

“Not gonna happen!” Ari said with glee.

“Get off! Stop laughing, Justin!”

“Lucas has a crush! Lucas has a crush!” Ari sang out.

At that moment, Will and Sonny came into the kitchen to a spectacle of a show. Lucas was running after Justin around the island but with Ari still holding on to him, it looked more like a mummy chase, with his arms straight out and taking stiff steps as he dragged Ari along.

“Behold your children.” Will said, waving his hand around.

“Oh, no. Moments like these, they are your children.” Sonny chuckled.

Ari finally noticed her dads in the doorway and hastily let go of Lucas.

“Oh, hi. Didn’t see you there.”

“Obviously. Don’t let us interrupt your strange display of sibling affection.” Sonny smirked. He walked over to the coffee machine and began pouring coffee into two mugs.

“We were just messing around.” Justin shrugged as Lucas straightened up.

“Ari! You’ve stretched my shirt!” Lucas complained.

“You’ll get over it.” Ari rolled her eyes as she plopped down on a bar stool and grabbed an apple.

“This is my favorite shirt! Do you know how much this costs?”

“Yeah I do, doofus. I was the one who brought it for your birthday.” Ari shot back.

“Oh, right. I forgot.” Lucas realized, as he pulled the sleeves up.

Justin snorted as a phone rang.

“That’s mine. Damn, it’s Crystal.” Will said, referring to his editor. “Hey, Crystal. Woah, calm down…what happened…seriously…you need everyone.…well, how long is it going to be…that long….are you kidding…no, nothing…yeah, I’m fine….yeah, I’ll see you soon…bye.”

Will hung up with a groan.

“What’s happened?” Sonny asked, handing him a mug of coffee and taking a sip of his own.

“Latest scandal just broke in Salem. Crystal wants everyone on staff working on this “breaking story.” I’ll probably be at the office until at least eleven or twelve tonight.” Will sighed.

“What?!” Ari yelped. Seeing everyone turn to her, she quickly covered. “That’s-that’s crazy hours.”

“What’s the scandal?” Lucas asked as he ate his cereal.

“Some city official was caught exiting a hotel room with an underage girl. Details are still coming in. I hate when Crystal pulls everyone in for a glorified piece.” Will said, annoyed. He started gulping down his coffee. “Justin, I’m sorry, but I can’t drop you off anymore. I got to get to the office right now.”

“It’s fine, Dad.” Justin replied, He drained his juice glass and shot a meaningful glance to Ari.

“I’ll drop you off, J.” Ari said, quickly.

“Thanks, I’ll go get ready.” Justin made to leave the kitchen.

“I’m-I’m gonna go warm up my car.” Ari followed her brother out. At the doorway, they turned back.

“Lucas, don’t you need to get ready for school too?” Justin asked, pointedly.

“No, I’m still eating.” Lucas replied, obliviously.

“Lucas, come on!” Ari snapped before hastily adding, “You’re going to be late.”

Lucas finally caught on, “Oh, right. Right. Yes. School.” He grabbed his cereal bowl and followed after his siblings.

“Did that whole exchange seem a bit off to you?” Sonny asked, bewildered.

“I stop questioning their antics a long time ago.” Will shrugged. He finished his coffee and placed the mug in the sink. Coming over to Sonny, he placed his hands on Sonny’s forearms.

“I’m sorry that our dinner date has to be cancelled. Can we reschedule for tomorrow? How about lunch?”

Sonny smiled briefly, “That sounds good.”

“Good. We’re going to get through this, Sonny. I promise you that.”

“You’re using my line again.” Sonny joked.

“It’s my line right now.” Will leaned forward and kissed Sonny. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Bye, Will.” Sonny watched his husband leave the kitchen.

Then he let out another sigh.

***

Ten minutes later, after Ari called EJ to cancel that night’s plan, the kids were on their way to school in various states of panic.

“I can’t believe our idea got shot to hell! All that planning for nothing!” Ari complained as she sped through a green light.

“If you really think about it, EJ and Grandma did most of the work, we just made a call. And will you slow down?” Lucas pointed out as he sat next to her.

“Remember when we talked about the right and wrong times to share honesty, Lucas?” Ari snapped.

“It’s fine. We can just come up with a new one.” Justin reasoned from the back. “Um, anyone got any ideas?”

“My brain is so fried from history, I can’t even think right now.” Ari replied, tiredly.

“Or drive. Ari, slow down!” Lucas shouted as Ari took a sharp left turn that had them all tossing in their seats.

“Sorry! Ok, sorry. I was trying to make the green arrow.” Ari slowed down.

“Maybe we don’t need to come up with a new plan.” Justin spoke up.

“Why do you say that?” Lucas asked.

“Did you see the two of them at breakfast? They seemed civil to each other. More so than I’ve seen the past week. Also, when I walked into their room this morning, they seemed to be in the middle of something.”

“Like what?”

“No idea. But they were holding hands. Although, Papa did let go real quick.”

“So, do you think they’ve made up?” Ari asked, glancing at Justin through the rearview mirror.

“Eyes on the road!” Lucas shouted. “God, I can’t wait until I get my license.”

Ari ignored him. “Justin?”

“Maybe not completely made up, but they seem to be getting there.” Justin answered.

“Then it works out better for us. Now we just need to give them that extra push to completely reconcile.” Lucas stated, his eyes glued to the road.

“Ok, how about this.” Ari said, turning into the school parking lot. She parked her car and turned it off. “Let’s meet at the Brady Pub after school. We can come up with a new plan then.”

“Sounds good.”

“Yeah, ok.”

Lucas got out of the car, grabbed his backpack and took a deep breath.

“I survived another hell ride.” He sighed with relief.

“Overdramatic.” Ari shoved him as she passed him, Justin laughing beside her.

“For good reason!” Lucas called after her.

***

Ari walked into the Pub after school with a spring in her step. Her dreaded history test was over and she was fairly confident she did well. However, she could think of a few questions that she was uncertain about so she wanted to look over her notes before meeting her brothers. Knowing the twins they were most likely not going to be at the Pub yet, and a quick glance of the restaurant proved her correct.

 _“It would be more surprising if they were actually on time for something.”_ Ari thought as she took a seat at one of the booths. She had just taken out her history notebook when a menu was dropped down hurriedly in front of her. Then her great uncle materialized in front of her, pad and pen in hand, ready to take her order.

“Hi, welcome to the Brady Pub. Can I interest you in a bowl of our famous clam chowder?” Eric said quickly, not looking up from his notepad.

Ari let out a giggle. “Uh, nice to see you too, Uncle Eric.”

Eric looked up in surprise. “Ari? I didn’t see you there.”

“Clearly.” Ari leaned forward and folded her hands on the menu. “Busy day?”

“More like busy week. I’ve had two waitresses quit on me and I’m trying to hold down the fort and not go completely insane at the same time.” Eric sank into bench opposite her with a sigh. 

Ari looked at him sympathetically, “Sorry to hear that. Why did they quit?”

“One got pregnant and needed a better job and the other decided she would rather work fulltime on her singing career. Never mind that I’ve heard her sing and she actually sounds like a dying cow.” Eric shook his head.

Ari burst into laughter. “What happened to supporting other people’s dreams? Or being happy for others?”’

“I’ll be happy when I have other people’s support. Which means not quitting on me without notice.”

“Have you started interviewing people?”

“I’ve tried to, but I’m also having to take care of the floor at the same time so the interviews don’t go well on my end. There was one instance where I spilled coffee on an applicant’s resume. Safe to say, she lost interest in the job very quickly.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Yep. I swear, running this pub seemed so much easier when Grandma Caroline did it. And on her own too.”

“You’re doing fine, Uncle Eric. It’s just a minor setback.” Ari’s phone rang. “It’s my mom.” She said, checking the caller ID.

“Oh, I’ll let you get that. I need to get back to work anyway. Tell Gabi I say hi.”

“Thanks, I will. See ya, Uncle Eric.” Ari said as Eric walked away to the bar.

Ari answered the phone to hear an automated voice tell her she had a call from Salem Penitentiary. She eagerly pressed 1 to accept the call. A few seconds later, her mother’s voice filled the line.

“Hi, Ari!”

“Mama, hi! How are you?”

“I’m doing well.” Gabi said, happily.

“Oh no. What did you do now?” Ari asked with a grin.

“What makes you think I did something? I’m just happy talking to my little girl.”

“That’s not your ‘happy to talk to Ari’ voice, that’s ‘I scored a victory’ voice.”

“Right, and you know the tones of my voice so well, huh?”

“Yes I do. Don’t dodge the question, what happened?”

“Well, it’s nothing much. Just scored an extra pudding cup at lunch today.”

“That’s…nice.” Ari tried to say with enthusiasm. Honestly, she was expecting something bigger, like a parole hearing coming up.

Gabi chuckled. “Well, it wasn’t so much the pudding cup that made me happy, but who I took it from.”

“Who’d you take it from?” Ari asked, immediately.

“Oh, it’s not important.” Gabi said, dismissively. “I’d rather hear about you, honey. How did your history test go?”

“It went well. I was just about to go over my notes to double check and—oh no. Oh no!” Ari gasped, staring at her notebook.

“Ari? What’s wrong, honey?” Gabi asked, worriedly.

“I screwed up one of the short answer questions! I wrote about the Haymitch riots when I meant the Haymarket riots! Dammit!”

Gabi burst into laughter. “ _Dios Mio_ , and I thought it was actually something serious.”

“Mama, this is serious! I think I lost six whole points!” Ari wailed. “This is what I get for re-watching The Hunger Games the day before my exam!”

“Ari, it was just one question. And I’m assuming you explained the Haymarket Riots correctly despite having the wrong name?”

“Yeah.” Ari said, miserably.

“Then I’m sure you didn’t get the full points off. You’ll be fine, _mamita_.”

“I hope so. Ugh, I can’t believe you made such a stupid mistake.” Ari groaned.

“It’s going to fine, Ari. Honestly, you freak out so easily.” Gabi chuckled.

Ari sighed. “I guess I’m overstressed. I’ve got so much going on with school, college apps, and this thing with Dad and Papa.”

“What? What’s going on with Will and Sonny?” Gabi asked, immediately.

 _‘Dammit, stupid word vomit.’_ Ari thought.

“Mama, it’s nothing. They’ve just been fighting a lot lately.”

“Will and Sonny? Fighting? That’s like saying the Loch Ness Monster exists.”

“They had an argument last week that just kinda blew up.”

“Are they ok now?”

“No, not really.”

“Now that I think about it, Will did sound a bit down yesterday when I talked to him.” Gabi noted.

“That’s probably why.” Ari sighed. “The boys and I were worried about them so we tried helping out but that blew up in our faces.”

“How? What happened?”

“We planned this whole date with a limo ride to Chicago, tickets to a play, and dinner at the Hancock building but then Dad got called into work and the whole plan got scrapped.” 

“Holy crap, that is fancy. And, how did you afford all this, pray tell?”

“Called in favors from EJ and Grandma Sami.”

“Ah, well, it always helps to have DiMera connections.”

“Exactly.”

“I have to say, it’s not like Will to be so rude and cancel plans you kids worked so hard to set up.”

“Um, he didn’t know about them. Neither did Papa.”

“Oh, so the whole thing was supposed to have been a surprise?”

“Yeah. It was going to be great too, but of course the universe had to be against us.” Ari sighed as she sat back in her seat.

“Huh.” Gabi said, slowly.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Gabi said quickly.

“Mama, just tell me what you’re thinking.” Ari ran a hand through her hair.

“Honey, I know you meant well, but, this extravagant date doesn’t seem like Will and Sonny sort of thing. They’ve never been one for big, grand gestures. You know that your father accepted Sonny’s proposal with a handmade photo album? They work best with simplicity.”

“Yeah, I know. I just-” Ari shrugged helplessly. “I want to help them fix this in some way.”

Gabi was silent for so long, Ari thought she got disconnected.

“Mama? Are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m still here. I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Normally I would tell you to leave it alone and let your Daddies handle their problems, but I can tell this is bothering you too much for you to let it go.”

“You would be correct.” Ari replied, twisting a strand of hair around her finger.

“So, I’m going to give you advice on how you could possibly help them.”

“Great, I’m all ears.”

“Don’t go big. Try to do something intimate and homey. Your dads will appreciate it more.”

“Ok, but what do I do?”

“Well, you could—“ But Gabi got cut off then, by an angry voice on her end.

“Hernandez, how about getting your greasy ear off the phone and letting others take a turn?” An older woman’s voice snapped in the background.

“Ouch, what a zinger, Valdez. That really hurt. You can calm your ass down and wait your turn.” Gabi retorted. “Right, Ari, what I was saying was—“

“You’ve been talking to your gay bastard child for almost ten minutes now. Wrap it up!” The woman—Valdez—insisted.

Ari sucked in a breath as Gabi went quiet again.

“Give me a minute, honey.” Gabi said in a low voice.

“Um, ok.” Ari wondered what her mother would do.

There was a static noise as if Gabi made to cover the mouthpiece, but Ari could still hear the muffled exchange.

“Your stupidity is showing again, Valdez. Not that it ever really goes away. My baby girl is not gay, her father is. You know who he is right? Blond man who comes to see me every Saturday with my daughter and his husband?” Gabi’s voice then turned mocking,  “Oh wait, you wouldn’t know who he is. Cause you never get visitors so you have no business for the visitation room.”

Ari continued to listen, awestruck.

“Shut your mouth, Hernandez.”

“Who do you want to call so badly anyway? Is it one of your six baby daddies? Trying to hit one of them up for favors, huh? Actually I forget, is it six or seven? Doesn’t matter. None of them give a damn about you, anyway.” Gabi said with a note of finality.

 _‘Oh, shit! Go Mama!’_ Ari silently cheered.

“You bitch!”

There was a clunk that sounded like the phone had fallen and Ari could now clearly hear a lot of yelling. One was definitely her mother, screaming profanities in Spanish. Ari called out uselessly to her mother. Then she heard a man’s voice overtake the other voices bellowing,

“Valdez, Hernandez! Break it up! Crazy ass women!”

“Blame it on Valdez.” Gabi snapped. “She started shooting off her damn mouth. She’s probably still upset someone took her pudding cup at lunch.”

“I know that was you, bitch.”

“You can’t prove anything.” Gabi said, almost smugly.

“Hernandez is taking too long with her phone call. We have time limits for a reason!” Valdez protested.

“Cry me a river, Valdez. It’s another day, another fight with you. Wait your turn. And Hernandez, your time is up. End your phone call now.”

Both women grumbled but the man spoke again, angrily. “Do it, or I’ll take away both your commissary.”

A minute later, Gabi was back on the phone. “Sorry, sweetie. I have to go now. Big macho prison guard yells at me when other people are just incapable of acting like rational human beings.” Gabi said, aggressively.

“Hernandez.” The man’s voice said warningly.

“It’s fine, Mama.” Ari said quickly. “Thanks for calling and for the advice. Oh, and Uncle Eric says hi.”

“Thanks. Don’t forget to let me know how it goes with your dads.” Gabi said, her tone more eager now.

“I will. And, Mama?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“You’re such a badass.” Ari giggled.

Gabi laughed, “No one insults my family. Bye, baby girl. _Te amo_.”

“Love you too, Mama. Bye.”

“Hey, Ari.” Justin had arrived and sat down opposite from her. “Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s fine. I was just talking to my mom.” Ari set her phone down on the table.

“Oh, how is she?” Justin asked.

“She’s really good.” Ari said, grinning. “She’s taking care of herself.”

Justin cocked his head, confused. “Do I even want to know what that means?”

Ari shook her head, “Never mind. It’s a long story. Um, where’s Lucas?”

“He offered to walk Madi home.” Justin said with a sly grin.

“Who knew he was such a gentlemen?” Ari laughed. “Oh my God, do you think he’ll ask her out?”

“I promise I wouldn’t say anything.” Justin held up his hands.

“That’s a yes!” Ari laughed again. “This is too cute.”

“Hey, he might not ask her today. Just don’t bring it up, ok? It might turn him off.” Justin warned.

“Alright. I won’t say anything. So, how was school, J?”

“It was really good, actually. Do you remember that abstract painting I did for my drawing class a few weeks ago?”

“Yeah, I do. You had combined the Chicago skyline with downtown Salem. It was incredible.”

“Well, Mr. Parks chose to submit it in the school art show next month.” Justin beamed.

“Are you kidding me? Holy shit, Justin! That’s incredible! Well done!” Ari exclaimed, happily.

Justin ducked his head, bashfully. “Thanks. I’m really proud of it, actually. I didn’t think I would like drawing so much but since I’ve had to quit basketball, it’s proven to be a good distraction.”

“It’s nice that you picked up a hobby to occupy your time. Good for the mind.” Ari pointed out.

“I guess. Do you think Dad and Papa will want to come to the show?”

“Are you kidding? Of course they would! I’m coming too, and I’ll drag Lucas along.”

“Where am I getting dragged to now?” Lucas groaned as he walked up and plopped down next to his brother.

“Justin has a piece in the school art show and we’re going to support him.”

“Oh really? That’s cool, dude.” Lucas fist pumped his twin. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Thanks guys.” Justin said. “It’s on—“

“Ok, I’ve got a bacon cheeseburger, two club sandwiches and a garden salad.” Eric appeared at the booth, carrying a tray laden with dishes.

Ari exchanged looks with her brothers. “Uh, Uncle Eric? We didn’t order anything.”

“What? But the order slip said table six.” Eric looked down at the paper with a frown.

Lucas got up and leaned over his uncle’s shoulder to read the slip. “I think that’s suppose to be a nine.”

Eric squinted, “Oh damn, you’re right. I’m getting so frazzled, I can’t even read my own handwriting.”

“Excuse me? Can we get our bill?” A man called from another table.

“Coming!” Eric sighed, tiredly.

“Here, how about I drop this order off and you get their bill?” Lucas suggested.

“That would be a big help, thanks Lucas.” Eric carefully handed the tray to Lucas. “Got it? Is it too heavy?”

“Nope. I’m good.” Lucas easily balanced the tray on his hand and went over to table nine as Eric hurried off to the bar.

Ari watched Lucas hand out the food with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“I know that look. What are you thinking?” Justin said, watching her.

“Follow my lead.” Ari said as Lucas returned the tray and came back to rejoin them.

“Now that I think about it, I am kinda hungry.” Lucas said, picking up the menu Eric had left. “Not sure what to order, though.”

“You know,” Ari cleared his throat. “Uncle Eric was just telling me he’s been short staffed recently.”

“Really?” Justin said with interest as Lucas continued to pore over the menu.

“Yeah, it sucks. He needs to interview people but he can’t because he’s trying to cover the shifts too.”

“Sounds like he could use some extra help to ease up the burden.” Justin replied, catching on.

“Yeah and it’ll probably be temporary too. Just until he hires more people.” Ari said, staring directly at Lucas.

Lucas looked up, “Do you guys think I should get a burger or the chili?”

“Oh, for the love of---” Justin smacked his brother at the backside of his head.

“Ow! What was that for?” Lucas yelped.

“Uncle Eric needs help. We were talking about getting part time jobs last week. Connect the dots.” Justin exaggerated, slowly.

Realization dawned on Lucas’ face. “You think I should ask Uncle Eric for a job?”

“Bingo.” Ari said.

“Hey, that could work. I used to help on weekends over the summer anyway.” Lucas said, thoughtfully.

“Go talk to him.” Ari encouraged him.

“Ok, I will.” Lucas went to go find Eric.

“Lucas possibly working at the Pub. I don’t know if I should be terrified or not.” Justin joked.

Ari laughed, “I’m not sure either, but you can’t deny he’s got a certain knack at customer service.”

Justin shrugged in response as Lucas returned to the table.

“That was quick.” Ari commented, surprised.

“Didn’t take long to convince him. I guess he’s really desperate for the help. It’s only temporary though, a few hours after school until he hires more help.” Lucas replied. “Oh, and I chose the chili.”

“Good to know.” Justin rolled his eyes.

“I thought so. Anyway, getting to the point of this meeting.” Lucas shot his siblings a serious look. “What are we going to do now that our plan got foiled?”

“Boy gets a job and now he’s all business, all the time.” Ari chuckled.

“Damn straight. So, what’s the new plan?” Lucas asked.

“I was thinking we keep the Chicago theme, but in the daytime. We can get them tickets to a boat cruise. Or Skydeck tickets.” Justin suggested.

“That sounds good. And if we do it during the day, we can make lunch reservations somewhere.” Lucas added.

Ari stayed silent, thinking back on what her mother had told her.

_‘Keep it intimate and homey.’_

“Yo, Ari? You with us?” Lucas waved a hand in front of her face.

“The thing is, guys, don’t you think it’s all a bit too over the top for Daddy and Papa?” Ari said, slowly.

“What do you mean?” Justin asked, confused.

“It’s just—“ Ari started to explain but then Eric came up to the table again.

“Hey guys, I’m sorry to interrupt again. Lucas, is there any way you can actually come in tomorrow? I just remember that a repairman is coming in for the stove tomorrow afternoon and I need some extra help while I oversee everything.” Eric said.

“Sorry, Uncle Eric, but I’ve got guitar lessons tomorrow afternoon.” Lucas replied, apologetically.

“Oh, it’s ok. Damn, who then can I ask?” Eric ran a hand through his hair. “Hey, is Will free tomorrow? Can he come by?”

“He might be able to. You’ll have to double check with him though.” Ari replied. She ignored the looks her brothers were giving her.

“Ok, I’ll give him a call. It’ll only be the afternoon and I’ll pack some food for him to take home afterwards.”

“Yeah, that will definitely give him incentive.” Ari laughed. An idea was forming in her head.

“Great. I’ll go call him.” Eric left again.

“What the hell was that, Ari?” Justin asked as soon as Eric was out of earshot.

“What?” Ari blinked innocently.

“Uh, hello? We’re trying to come up with a date for Dad and Papa and you just made him unavailable for tomorrow!” Lucas said, annoyed.

“That’s because I just came up with a perfect plan.”

“In five seconds? Do share.” Justin said, not convinced.

“A nice homemade candlelight dinner for Dad and Papa. It’s romantic, it’s simple, it’s totally them.” Ari grinned.

Her brothers did not match her level of enthusiasm.

“Great, and who is exactly is going to cook this romantic dinner? I’m not having you relieve your Thanksgiving disaster from last year.” Lucas said, matter-of-factly.

“Ok, for the last time, I didn’t realize the oven was still on! And isn’t it obvious who’s bringing the food? It’s Daddy.”

“Are you talking about the food Uncle Eric will give him? Pub food?” Justin asked, skeptically. “How is that romantic?”

“I’ll ask Uncle Eric to pack Daddy and Papa’s favorite. Chicken alfredo with fettuccine. We’ll get things ready. The table, the candles, everything. Then, Dad will come home with the food, and Papa will come home with the wine to see a table set beautifully for just the two of them and…”

“They think the other did it for them.” Justin said, catching on again. “Damn, that’s actually pretty brilliant.”

“I’m guessing we are going to be serving them too?” Lucas asked.

“Yep.” Ari held out her hands to them. “I present to you your waiters for the evening, ‘Juston and Luke-as’.” She said with a French accent.

“That was terrible.” Lucas and Justin burst into laugher for a long time.

“Ok, but how do you know Papa will bring the wine?” Justin asked when he finally caught his breath.

“I’ll call Uncle Chad. Tell him to make up an excuse and make sure Papa brings home a bottle. It shouldn’t be hard, Papa does it all the time.”

“And who are you going to be?”

“The hostess, of course. Hi, my name is Arianna Grace and I have your table ready right here.” Ari swept her arm out.

“This is totally cheesy but I can actually see it working. It’s what Dad and Papa need, just a nice sit down dinner.” Lucas admitted.

“I agree.” Justin nodded.

“I’m back, but I bring goodies this time.” Eric said, popping up with another tray of food. He set a bowl of chili in front of Lucas, a club sandwich in front of Ari and a cheeseburger in front of Justin.

“We didn’t order this.” Justin said, confused.

“I did. I figured it’s what you guys would’ve wanted.” Lucas said, crumbling crackers into his chili.

“Aw, that’s sweet. Thanks, Lucas.” Ari glanced at Justin. “Switch?”

“Definitely.” Justin and Ari switched orders.

Eric laughed as Lucas dug into his chili, unaffected. “Close enough.”

“Hey Uncle Eric, did you reach Dad?” Ari asked, biting into a fry.

“Yeah, I did. He’s coming by tomorrow to help out. I promise to make extra clam chowder for you guys.”

Seeing the less than happy looks on the siblings’ faces, Eric tried again, “Uh, unless you guys have a preference for something else?”

“Chicken alfredo with fettuccine!” The three kids chorused, loudly.

Eric blinked in surprise “Um, wow. Ok, you guys must really be craving it. Sure, I’ll make some for you all.”

“Thanks, Uncle Eric.” Ari said, sweetly.

“Sure thing. I’m going to go check on table seven. Enjoy your food, guys.” Eric left.

“Thanks!” Justin called after him. He reached over and grabbed one of Ari’s fries, and held it up, “Well, AG, the plan is officially underway.”

Ari grinned as she took another fry and tapped it against Justin’s. “Time to let the games begin, JV.”

“You guys are dorks.” Lucas rolled his eyes.

“Got something to say, LA?” Ari raised an eyebrow and pushed the fries towards Lucas.

Lucas stared at the plate, smirked, shook his head, and then took a fry. He held his up, “All I’m saying is, they better appreciate this. ”

“Hear, hear!” The Horton Kiriakis kids clinked their fries together, laughing.

***

Text Messages:

_Will: Uncle Eric needs me to help out at the pub tomorrow. Looks like tomorrow’s lunch is a no go._ _:(_

_Sonny: Damn, Horton. How many times can you reschedule one date?_

_Will: Sorry! But he promised me free food!_

_Sonny: Ah, and your willpower crumbled._

_Will: Like a Jenga game._

_Sonny: It’s fine, Will. Don’t worry about it._

_Will: You should know by now, I don’t give up that easily, Kiriakis. I will come up with something to make up for this. Something you won’t expect at all._

_Sonny: And now I’m terrified._

_Will: Good_ _:)_ _Shit, Crystal’s coming. Talk later!_

_Sonny: What? You’re not even going to give me a hint? Will? Will!_

_Will: Xxx._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, that Haymitch/Haymarket mix up? Totally did that during one of my history finals during undergrad. Luckily I still got some credit :)  
> Next chapter is the dinner! (Finally!)


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